A-Rod one of Twins’ greatest villains

Decorated infielder Alex Rodriguez is set play his final game as a member of the New York Yankees on Friday before moving into his new position as a consultant and special advisor, the first leg of his de facto retirement.

But while there are sure to be tears shed in New York, there may be no greater villain in the Twins’ 55-year history than "A-Rod."

His game-tying homer off closer Joe Nathan in the 2009 ALDS secured his spot in Minnesota’s sporting rogues gallery, the crescendo of a career of dominance against the Twins in October.

Opponent

G

AB

R

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

vs. Min

10

41

8

16

3

0

3

10

.390

.435

.683

1.118

vs. LAA

11

36

8

11

3

0

3

6

.306

.509

.639

1.148

vs. NYY

7

23

5

9

2

0

2

5

.391

.462

.739

1.201

vs. Bos

7

31

8

8

2

0

2

5

.258

.378

.516

.895

vs. Bal

8

32

2

7

1

0

1

1

.219

.265

.344

.608

vs. Phi

6

20

5

5

3

0

1

6

.250

.423

.550

.973

vs. Tex

6

21

4

4

2

0

0

2

.190

.320

.286

.606

vs. Cle

5

16

2

4

0

0

1

1

.250

.333

.438

.771

vs. CWS

3

13

0

4

0

0

0

2

.308

.308

.308

.615

vs. Det

12

41

1

4

0

0

0

3

.098

.191

.098

.289

vs. Hou

1

4

0

0

0

0

0

0

.000

.000

.000

.000

Rodriguez batted a full .021 points better than his career average of .295 when facing the Twins, racking up 181 hits and 140 RBI in 160 games against Minnesota, but he truly prospered in the playoffs.

Opponent

G

AB

R

H

2B

3B

HR

RBI

BA

OBP

SLG

OPS

Twins

150

573

116

181

22

3

51

130

.320

.390

.630

1.00

His prime coincided with the Twins’ final years at the Metrodome, where Rodriguez was particularly effective.

He hit 21 of his 696 career home runs at the Metrodome despite playing just 58 games there, good enough for sixth among ballparks he played in as a visitor, and second outside of the AL East, where he spent more than half of his career.

Ballpark

Team

G

AB

R

H

2B

3B

HR â¾

RBI

BA

OBP

SLG

Angel Stadium

Angels

102

400

89

128

21

1

38

86

.320

.388

.663

Rogers Centre

Blue Jays

121

470

89

125

27

0

36

99

.266

.363

.553

Camden Yards

Orioles

130

505

96

140

27

0

34

109

.277

.361

.533

Tropicana Field

Rays

114

433

79

112

22

2

30

73

.259

.356

.527

Fenway Park

Red Sox

132

509

103

146

22

3

29

88

.287

.366

.513

Metrodome

Twins

58

237

59

87

15

2

21

54

.367

.440

.713

O.co Coliseum

Athletics

103

399

56

106

13

2

21

74

.266

.346

.466

Kauffman Stadium

Royals

71

270

51

80

14

0

19

44

.296

.401

.559

US Cellular Field

White Sox

70

270

40

76

11

1

15

46

.281

.365

.496

Jacobs Field

Indians

67

266

36

76

19

0

10

40

.286

.362

.470

Even leveling the ‘Dome wasn’t enough to stop Rodriguez, who hit three home runs in an 8-5 win over the Twins at Target Field last summer, the fifth and likely final 3-homer game of his career.